Posts Tagged iran

Kill for Peace – US and EU Sanctions Deny Medicine to the Critically Ill

Michael Collins

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United States and European Union sanctions against Iran prevent much needed medical care for the Iranian people.   Those with cancer, for example, have lost the option of treatment through chemotherapy while hemophiliacs are at high risk for any surgery due to a denial of essential pharmaceuticals. There are 85,000 new cases of cancer every year in Iran.  Those with cancer and the newly diagnosed will have to do without effective treatments. A large percentage of them will die sooner than anticipated as a result.  (Image:  Fergal of Calldagh)

The Iranian medical community is unable to get required medicines due to financial restrictions in the sanctions regime.  The restrictions effectively blocks pharmaceutical purchases by Iranian medical facilities.  No ticket, no laundry is the policy of big and little pharma throughout the world.  As a result, right now — as you read this — innocent Iranians are dying, sentenced to death by the U.S.-E.U. sanctions.

Who on earth would initiate and sustain such a policy? Read the rest of this entry »

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Turkey – Running its Own Gauntlet

By: Hüsnü Mahalli  alakhbar english
August 9, 2012   Creative Commons
(Turkey: Running its Own Gauntlet
Turkey has burnt all its bridges with its neighbors – Iran, Iraq, and Syria – in a bid to ride the wave of the Arab Spring. Now, Ankara fears that Kurdish separatists will come to power if Assad’s regime collapses in Syria.

Istanbul – From the onset of events in Syria, Ankara has displayed relative caution in its relationship with Tehran. But now that the government of Recep Tayyib Erdogan has joined a “Sunni front” with Arab gulf countries, Ankara is being more direct with its Shia neighbor.

Chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces Hassan Firouzabadi recently blamed Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia for the bloodshed in Syria.

The Turkish government instantly jumped to respond to Firouzabadi’s accusations, and at the same time to remarks made earlier by senior Iranian envoy and chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili while on a visit to Damascus.

First came a declaration from Erdogan, followed by a more explicit position from his foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu. The latter accused Iran of complicity in Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s slaughter of the Syrian people. Read the rest of this entry »

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Netanyahu’s pretext for war – Islamic Jihad missiles

By Michael Collins

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has his pretext for an attack on Iran. He left Washington disappointed by President Obama’s reluctance to saddle up for Armageddon. Now he’s got the formula.

Haaretz (daily news), one of Israel’s few liberal media voices, linked Gaza based missile attacks on Israel to the presence of Iranian military experts. This fits nicely into the Netanyahu strategy. Here’s how Haaretz reported events:

“Iran pressured Islamic Jihad and popular resistance groups in Gaza to continue firing rockets into Israel despite cease-fire, says high-ranking Jerusalem official.

“Iranian military experts are active in the Gaza Strip and in Sinai, according to a high-ranking official in Jerusalem. The official said the Iranians entered the areas via Sudan and Egypt, and added that some of the rocket-launching systems in Gaza were manufactured under Iranian supervision.” Haaretz.com, March 19

The paper went on to say how shocked members of the Israeli left were with the overall theme of the article announcing a unified Israel in support of an attack on Iran.

Of course, any attack is so crazy on so many levels, it is exhausting to comprehend. Aside from the potential collapse of the world economy and the pervasive suffering, let’s focus on a sure fired reason that the United States won’t green light such a move. Read the rest of this entry »

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Brian M. Dowing: Gulf crisis ripples across the globe

Asia Times Feb 8, 2012

The United States has shifted its attention away from Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the world and firmly fixed it on Iran. Along with this has come a buildup of naval, air and ground forces to pressure and perhaps even attack Iran over fears its nuclear program might be designed to build a nuclear weapon.  (Image)

Allocating military might into the Gulf entails removing it from other parts of the globe which may embolden actors in various parts of the world to act more aggressively. They need not act in concert with Iran nor out of any sympathy for it. They may simply sense an opening as the US military becomes more overstretched.

Historical examples of such actions abound. As Britain and France plunged into World War II, Japan seized their colonies in Southeast Asia. After the war, as the Iron Curtain descended in Central Europe, North Korea – with Soviet encouragement – drove into South Korea.  FULL ARTICLE

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Brian M. Downing: Negotiations and great games in Afghanistan

By Brian M. Downing

Hopes for a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan are beginning once more, but the problematic Byzantine geopolitics are not readily apparent. It is not the bipolar confrontation between Britain and Russia that it was in the 19th century. Nor is it simply the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) against the Taliban.

The war in Afghanistan involves Pakistan against India, China against India, the Pashtun Afghans against the northern peoples, Saudi Arabia against Iran, and Russia against China. So arcane and intricate are these conflicts that the US is allied with enemies and at odds with allies.

Pakistan against India

Afghanistan has long been a theater in the long conflict between Pakistan and India. The two states have been rivals since their inception and thus far India has been the political, economic, and military winner – a disturbing imbalance which decisively shapes the outlooks of the Pakistani army and parts of the population.

More at the Asia Times January 14

 

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Is Iran Preparing to Strike Back?

By Brian M. Downing

These attacks are almost certainly directed by Israeli, Saudi, and US intelligence services. They may also be acts of war.

“This business will get out of control.”
– The Hunt for Red October

In the last few years diplomatic pressures and economic sanctions have been imposed to convince Iran to allow international inspection of its nuclear research facilities. A number of states have also pursued a violent clandestine campaign of bombings and assassinations that have killed scores of Iranians, including nuclear scientists. These attacks are almost certainly directed by Israeli, Saudi, and US intelligence services. They may also be acts of war.
Read the rest of this entry »

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Gen. Wesley Clark – US to invade 7 countries in five years

This is the plan. Clark outlines it clearly. Why wasn’t this front page news in 2007?

When the plan is out in the open and those in control of the media fail to report it, then there is no opening for the people … until now.

Spread this around and send a url to the major media.

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